Southern California -- this just in

L.A. Now Live: Discuss LAFD's response times, mistakes in data

November 16, 2012 | 8:13
am

Times reporters Robert Lopez and Ben Welsh will join L.A. Now Live at 9 a.m. to discuss their investigation into the Los Angeles Fire Department's response times.

A long-awaited review
of Los Angeles Fire Department response times has found that the agency
used inaccurate data "that should not be relied upon until they are
properly recalculated and validated," Lopez, Welsh and staff writer Kate Linthicum reported.

Although the Fire Department has previously acknowledged some mistakes
in its data, the 32-page report by a task force formed by Fire Chief
Brian Cummings found more widespread problems and delved more deeply
into factors that contributed to the faulty figures.

The inquiry was launched after department officials acknowledged earlier
this year that LAFD performance reports released to City Hall leaders
and the public made it appear rescuers were getting to emergencies
faster than they actually were.

On Thursday, The Times reported that
waits for medical aid vary dramatically across Los Angeles' diverse
neighborhoods. Residents in many of the city's most exclusive hillside
communities can wait twice as long for rescuers to arrive than people
who live in more densely packed areas in and around downtown, according
to the analysis that mapped out more than 1 million dispatches since
2007.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href=&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=ce2470eea5&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; _mce_href=&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=ce2470eea5&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;L.A. Now Live with city editor Shelby Grad&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;